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Bylsma to Help Run Benches at 2011 NHL Research, Development and Orientation Camp

by
Staff Writer
/ Pittsburgh Penguins

NEW YORK/TORONTO (July 15, 2011) -- The two most recent winners of the Jack Adams Trophy as the National Hockey League’s top head coach will call the shots when nearly three dozen of the top prospects eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft come together at the MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence in Etobicoke, Ontario, August 17-18 for the 2011 NHL Research, Development and Orientation Camp.

Dan Byslma of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who last month won the 2010-11 Adams Trophy, will run one bench and 2009-10 winner Dave Tippett of the Phoenix Coyotes will pilot the other when, for the second year in a row, the League puts the on-ice game under the microscope by having many of the world’s most talented 17-year-old players scrimmage with myriad proposed new rules, rink markings and strategies.

"The National Hockey League is coming off another thrilling season that reinforced our view that our game is thriving on the ice,” said Brendan Shanahan, NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety and Hockey Operations. “However, we remain committed to observing trends, studying our game regularly and testing new ideas to ensure it keeps getting better. The Research, Development & Orientation Camp provides a perfect environment to do those things while introducing many of our top prospects to pro hockey.”

In addition to putting many ideas from some of the game’s top minds to on-ice tests, the top prospects will be afforded the opportunity to show off their playing skills to general managers and talent evaluators from around the League in a unique best-on-best setting that commences their Draft-eligible seasons. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Gabriel Landeskog and Jonathan Huberdeau all sparkled at the inaugural NHL RDO Camp in August 2010 before becoming the top three selections in the 2011 NHL Draft last month.

"While our inaugural Research, Development and Orientation Camp was a great success, we expect to make this year's event even better,” Shanahan said. “We again will assemble a remarkable percentage of the top talents eligible for the upcoming NHL Draft. And this year, we’re providing them with the guidance of two of our League's outstanding current coaches, Dan Bylsma and Dave Tippett."

Agendas detailing which rules will be tested in each individual scrimmage will be released in early August. Media credential information also will be made available shortly.